New Delhi, July 20 (IANS) Delhi's iconic Red Fort will be shut for the public from July 21 till Independence Day celebrations on August 15 are over, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said on Tuesday.
"In exercise of the powers conferred under Rule 6 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Rules, 1959, the Director General, Archaeological Survey of India hereby direct that there shall be no entry inside the Red Fort from the morning of 21st July, 2021 to 15th August, 2021 till the Independence Day celebration is over," ASI order stated.
It came after the Delhi Police in a letter on July 12 had suggested that the Red Fort be shut from July 15 in view of the Covid pandemic and security reasons.
Delhi Police has already beefed up security in the capital, including near its three borders at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur, in view of the Monsoon Session of Parliament that commenced on Monday and run up to the Independence Day.
Delhi Police Commissioner Balaji Srivastava had conducted a citywide patrol on Sunday night with over 30,000 police personnel.
Stressing on the need for vigil and alertness on the part of every staff on duty in the capital, Srivastava had asked all police personnel to remain prepared 24x7, saying, "Delhi Police have been entrusted with public trust to keep the capital safe and secure. The city never sleeps, neither do we."
Addressing the media, Sukhbir Badal said SAD will continue stand by its fundamental principles of peace, harmony, and protect the interests of Punjab, Punjabis in general and Sikhs and farmers in particular.
The heightened levels of tensions are seen as unheard in recent times. A violent clash between the two countries on 15 June, left 20 dead on the Indian side and unknown number of Chinese casualties.
The largest democracy in the world with 1.4 billion people has been recording the world's biggest daily increases in coronavirus cases for almost a month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to share his condolences via Twitter, saying he was lucky to have Pranab Mukherjee's guidance since he took office.
On Friday according to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) Ex Director General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini has further dug himself a hole in Section 302 of the IPC in the case of disappearance of a former CITCO employee, Balwant Singh Multani.
